


Moonlit Thoughts

by IdenticallyDifferent



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avenger Loki (Marvel), Avengers Tower, Comfort, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Tony Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:42:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25107943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdenticallyDifferent/pseuds/IdenticallyDifferent
Summary: Tony can’t sleep and Loki helps him out.
Relationships: Loki & Tony Stark, Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 7
Kudos: 96





	Moonlit Thoughts

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! I haven’t written for the Marvel fandom before... I hope you like it.
> 
> This fic doesn’t have a BETA, so any mistakes are mine. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Sleep didn’t come easy to Tony. It never had, and he doubted it ever would. Ever since he was a young boy his mind had been alive with thoughts, constantly whirling around with obtrusive thoughts and coming up with all kinds of wild inventions. Nothing calmed it. Many people in his life blamed it on a bad sleeping schedule or drinking too much coffee. Tony knew those two things didn’t exactly help, but they weren’t the core reasons behind his sleeping problems. Later on in life Tony’s thoughts turned progressively darker, more sinister in nature and harder to control. In an attempt to combat his thoughts he tried all sorts of things but succumbed to self-destructive methods. First came the alcohol. He consumed tremendous amounts that his body wept the mind numbing liquid out of his pores. Then came the brief warmth of faceless bodies. Tony didn’t see a way out of this cycle, but then everything changed: he became Iron Man.

Becoming Iron Man changed Tony’s thoughts, although not necessarily for the better. Thoughts of death and destruction were thrust to the forefront of his mind, either by his hand or alien forces, it didn’t matter, just that every single one of his decisions impacted someone’s life. It was a different kind of responsibility he hadn’t previously known compared to when he manufactured weapons.

Whenever Tony had approached the subject with his teammates, had sought relief in the form of talking to someone who might understand, he would freeze up and couldn’t utter a word. How could he tell them about an untold future where he’d seen a mountain of their dead bodies and a world full of chaos. They would pass it off as a wild imagination fuelled from sleep deprivation. Maybe they were right? Who knew. So, Tony kept his thoughts to himself and only had the moon to keep him company in the quiet long nights.

***

Tony wasn’t in his workshop tonight, instead he was on the communal floor in the Avenger’s Tower. Curled up in an armchair Tony was sat with his feet tucked up below him and a hot chocolate clutched to his chest while he stared out at the expansive city below. It was 4am and Tony took comfort in the stillness. The world was asleep. Tony sipped his drink and welcomed the warmth it provided. 

“It’s a beautiful night,” a voice whispered.

Tony jumped and whipped his head around to find the source of the voice that broke the silence. He wasn’t the only one awake, then. There, over by the doorway, stood Loki. 

“I did not mean to startle you,” Loki said with his hands raised in the air. He wasn’t wearing his usual leather clothes, instead he wore a loose white tunic and baggy trousers. Tony hadn’t seen him so casual before, presumably because Loki spent the majority of his time hidden inside his room and didn’t let his guard down. 

“It’s okay,” Tony replied, “You can join me, if you’d like.” The idea of spending the night in Loki’s company didn’t seem so bad. After all, Loki didn’t seem the sort to probe and ask personal questions of Tony; he was respectful. 

Loki inclined his head minutely and went to recline in the armchair opposite Tony. He mimicked Tony by staring out the window, the lights from below dancing in his eyes. Tony was content to sit in silence, and if after a while his eye-line happened to rest on the man in front of him instead of outside, there was no harm in that, was there? He wondered why Loki decided to spend his wakeful moment here. The Asguardian avoided everyone - so why did he come here? Once he saw Tony he could’ve spun around without announcing his presence and Tony would have been none the wiser. There was the possibility he sought company, but Tony dismissed this idea as soon as it popped into his mind and a more likely one replaced it about how Loki might often come here and their moonlit paths have never crossed before because Tony was usually holed up in his workshop.

As though feeling the weight of Tony watching him, Loki turned to him and said, “I did not expect anyone else to be occupying this space, or awake, for that matter.”

Tony sniggered. “I’m always awake.” Loki raised an eyebrow, but Tony continued before he could comment. “I’m usually in my workshop, but tonight I fancied a change of scenery. How about you?” Tony purposefully constructed the question for Loki to reveal only how much he was comfortable with saying. He drank the last dregs from his drink as he waited for Loki’s reply.

“Sleep eluded me,” Loki said and returned his gaze outside. Tony decided not to push for details and let silence overtake them. Now that he looked at Loki closer, he could see his hair wasn’t in its usual slicked back style, instead strands stuck up in random directions. His skin was a shade paler than normal and his posture curved inwards. Before Loki caught Tony staring, he turned away.

Gradually the sky lightened and birds chirped sweetly outside.

“The last time I watched a sunrise I was on Asgard,” Loki said, softly. 

“What are they like?” encouraged Tony. He kept his tone in check, he didn’t want to appear too intrigued and scare Loki away with his unbridled curiosity. 

“They are wonderful, Stark. No words will truly do them justice,” he began. The corners of Loki’s lips slowly turned upwards and his eyes got a far away look in them. “Asgard floats atop a plane of water and the skies blaze like a fire. Each morning is different and brings new meaning to beauty. No matter how many times I have seen them in my many years of life I will always find them enchanting.”

“I wish I could see them.” Since meeting Thor many years ago, Tony had researched Asgard as much as he could with the limited resources earth had to offer. Going to the source was always the best option but he hadn’t had the chance to ask too many questions to Thor because he was often away from the Tower. Loki hadn’t been an option either. Tony had learned early on that Loki didn’t like being asked questions about the planet he grew up on. Until now. It seemed the god only talked when he wanted to, on his own terms and not when others forced him to open up like a clam revealing a pearl. Tony smiled at the thought that Loki must be comfortable enough with him in order to speak about Asgard.

“Perhaps one day you will,” Loki considered. He faced Tony and searched his eyes. “You are interested in Asgard.” After seeing Tony nod, he continued, “I will endeavour to answer some of your questions, but not tonight.”

Tony couldn’t contain his reaction to hearing this. His eyes widened comically and he beamed at Loki. “I have so much to ask you!” He exclaimed, practically bouncing on his chair.

Loki scoffed lightly, a smile on his face.

“You’ve made my day. Night? Whatever, you know what I mean.” Now that he thought about it, Tony could feel the weight behind his eyes. He stifled a yawn. 

“You should go to bed,” Loki stated, a frown etched on his face. 

“So should you,” countered Tony.

“I’m not a mere mortal like you.” Loki smirked, and Tony rolled his eyes.

“You should tell me a bedtime story, since I’m a child compared to you,” Tony cheekily said and batted his eyelashes at Loki. Loki gave pause. Was he considering it? Tony had suggested it jokingly, but now, with the possibility of it becoming a reality… it didn’t sound too bad.

“Would it help?” Loki wondered. 

Tony shrugged. Would it? Tony couldn’t answer confidently. He couldn’t remember the last time someone read a bedtime story to him, if ever. He assumed his mother did when he was a baby but he had no way of knowing. 

“I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “I don’t remember ever being read a bedtime story. Are they even a thing on Asgard?”

Loki thought for a moment before responding, “Yes, my mother read to Thor and I when we were children. I know a few stories by heart. I can recite one for you, if you wish?” 

Tony’s first thought was what if Loki was teasing him, he’d never live this down. However, looking at Loki in the light of the early morning sun, in loose sleepwear and disheveled hair, he looked vulnerable, more so than he’d ever seen before. There was no traces of mocking behind his eyes.

Tony didn’t know how to respond so he settled on nodding. 

And so Loki began to weave a story full of magic and wonder which would excite any person. Tony relaxed back into the armchair, content. He didn’t remember when his eyes drifted shut, but before he knew it Tony’s mind had stilled. His thoughts quietened. He saw bright colours behind his eyes and felt Loki’s deep voice wrap around him in a comforting embrace, cocooning him in a warmth that spread throughout his body and lulled him to sleep.

***

When Tony woke up his first thought was that he was warm. There was a weight on top of him which he couldn’t place. Opening his eyes he saw a blanket had been tucked around him. Strange, he didn’t remember having one with him last night. Through a sleep-fogged head, memories slowly came flooding back into his mind. 

Tony had been with Loki. Loki had told him a story. Tony fell asleep.

Tony fell asleep? He couldn’t believe the story had actually worked, and worked well because he felt well-rested. He should thank Loki. Speaking of, where was he? He surveyed the room, but Loki wasn’t anywhere to be seen. He must have gone back to his room and left Tony there without disturbing his sleep. A thought struck Tony then. What if Loki had given him the blanket? His ears blazed at the thought. 

Dismissing his thoughts, Tony got up and went about his daily routine. He worked on his projects and briefly saw some teammates when he surfaced from his workshop, but never Loki. His mind drifted back to last night throughout the day and he had to keep reminding himself that it did in fact happen, it wasn’t a dream. 

When 1am came around Tony decided to sit in the communal floor once more. He would be lying if he said he didn’t want Loki to show up. A few hours passed. The clock raced past 4am and just as Tony was about to give up hope he heard a familiar voice.

“Can’t sleep, Stark?”

Tony smiled and looked over his shoulder to see Loki.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this fic made you smile! Kudos make me smile ;)
> 
> Any and all comments are welcome
> 
> Have a good day/night wherever you are <3


End file.
